Timeless
by fearofbeingalone1312
Summary: How do you remember a timeless love?
1. Chapter 1

**Timeless**

* * *

It had been a really long week for all three of the kids. The emotional toll was strong and not easy to deal with for any of them but now it was taking a physical toll as well. Cheyenne was starting to box up little knickknacks from around the house when her back started hurting.

"Elizabeth, would you come here please?" Moments later, thirty-three year old Elizabeth came walking into the living room.

"What'cha need mom?" she asked as she came over to her.

"Can you run down to the car and grab me a few more boxes?" Cheyenne said letting out a heavy sigh. Elizabeth came over and hugged her mother.

"I know how hurt you are mom; I'd feel the same way if I lost you." She said giving Cheyenne a squeeze. "I miss her too."

"Not like I do Elizabeth; she was like my bestfriend my whole life." She said as her eyes filled with tears again.

"I know." Elizabeth said quietly. She knew just how much Reba had meant to Cheyenne and couldn't stand the thought of her mom not having her there anymore.

Elizabeth headed outside to get the boxes her mother asked her to get as a million thoughts flooded her mind.

"I miss you too, Grandma." She said quietly as she looked at the house from the back of the SUV. Her eyes filled with tears as she blinked hard, trying to keep her composure. She never imagined her grandmother could ever die, let alone now. "Nothing's the same without you." She shut the car and carried the boxes into the house slowly. As soon as she was through the door she could feel how empty the house was without her grandmothers' presence.

"Thanks sweetie." Cheyenne said as she took the boxes from her. "Can you help me set them up? My arthritis has been pretty bad lately."

"Sure." Elizabeth said as she knelt down to unfold a box. She started to take the things her mother handed her and softly place them in the box in complete silence.

"Do you remember when your grandmother took you homecoming shopping your junior year and got you that pink dress?" Elizabeth looked up at her mother who was smiling at a picture. She cracked a smile herself.

"That was the dance I asked Jason too. We spent three hours in that store looking for that dress. Grandma was determined to find that dress for me." Elizabeth smiled fondly at the memory. She looked down at her left hand and her smile fell slightly as her eyes filled with tears. "Grandma's the reason I'm still with him now."

"She knew you two were going to be together." Cheyenne said, looking at her daughter's ring.

"Grandma changed my life."

"She changed all of our lives."

* * *

Later that day, Cheyenne was sitting up in her mother's room taking a break. She was tired and felt like she could talk to her mother in peace here. She looked around at all the photos Reba had kept all around her room for as long as she could remember.

She thought back on all the memories all these photos held, all the laughs and good times they represented, and all the hard times they proved they could pull through.

"I don't know what I would've done without you, Mom." She whispered as she looked at a picture of Reba holding a three year old Elizabeth at the zoo, two big grins spread across their faces.

"Mom, you up here?" Cheyenne looked over at the door to see her 27 year old son Matt in the doorway. "Liz said you needed my help." Cheyenne nodded as she sat up straight.

"I need you to grab the stuff off the top shelf of the closet, I cleared everything else out of it yesterday, I just can't reach." She said gesturing to the shelf.

"Anything for you, Shorty." Matt said as he rustled his mothers' hair a little with a laugh. He was always one to lighten the mood with his humor.

"I'm not that short, Matt, and I'm Mom to you, not Shorty." He rolled his eyes with a laugh as he walked over to the closet.

"Everything coming down?"

"Yes, I got a few things down already but I can't reach the rest.

"Gotcha." He said as he pulled a cardboard box down. "Where do you want them?"

"On the floor by that dresser." Cheyenne pointed. He set the box down as Cheyenne made her way over to it to see what was contained inside it. It was a box of old jewelry; she had been in this box many times and knew its contents well. From Reba's old wedding ring, to jewelry she had saved from her younger years, to little things Cheyenne and Kyra had made her over the course of their childhood. Cheyenne closed the lid with a little smile and moved on to the next box Matt placed beside her.

"Anything interesting?" Matt asked as he set another box by the pile.

"Nothing that would interest you." Cheyenne said, not bothering to look up at her son.

"What is it?"

"Looks like a box of family antiques. I think they were my grandmothers' things." She said looking at an old trinket she had played with as a child. Her mother had it out in her room years ago. She must have put it away sometime after Elizabeth was born.

"They look ancient." Matt commented as he crouched by his mother's side.

"It's older than I am Matt."

"See? Ancient." He said as he elbowed his mother playfully. She elbowed him right back as she scoffed a little.

"Don't you have a job to be doing?" he laughed before standing and heading back to the closet. As Cheyenne sorted through the box of trinkets as he set box after box by his mothers side.

"This one's really heavy." Matt said as he set one of the last boxes down with a thud. "Can I pop this one open?" he asked as he looked at his mother. Cheyenne laughed.

"After some of the things I've found in these boxes, I doubt you'd be willing too." Cheyenne said with a laugh to her son. After a moment of thought he stood up.

"Let me know if it's anything of interest."

"Can do honey." She said without looking up.

After a few boxes were sorted through, Cheyenne came to the heavy box Matt had wanted to open. She cracked a smile when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Matt looking over at her with interest. She opened the lid to find a bunch of books.

"What is it?" Matt asked from his spot over on the bed.

"Books." She lifted one to see Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, and The Thorn Birds; her mothers' favorite books.

"She sure read a lot."

"She was always reading when she could find the time, but they were always the same books. She never went out and bought new books to read when she finished one. Except for the few your aunt and I had drug her into."

"Then what're the rest of them?" Cheyenne put the books she had in her hands down and looked back in the box. When she looked, she saw they had numbers crawled on the covers of each. '75 was on the smallest number she could find. Cheyenne felt her curiosity grow as she opened it to find it was hand written. She looked at the first page and could feel Matt's eyes on her intently. She looked dup at him.

"Matt honey, can you go ask your aunt Kyra if she needs any help? If she doesn't would you be the savior of the day by going got pick up some lunch?" she said with a smile.

"What're the books?" he challenged. Cheyenne stalled for a minute.

"Looks like books of... sex." She said suddenly. That's one of the only things he wouldn't want a part of; Matt was just as nosy as his mother. He got a disgusted look on his face and nearly ran from the room. Cheyenne had to laugh before looking down at the book._ What if it is a sex journal? She was my mother, I don't want to know any of that… as far as I'm concerned, she only ever had sex 3 times her entire life…_ she thought to herself. She shrugged anyways and opened it up to the first page…

_Well, I don't know how to start this thing. My name is Reba McKinney; I am eighteen years old and a senior in high school. My mama mentioned starting a journal to remember this amazing time in my life and for some odd reason, I agreed to do it. I have no idea what to say. I've never been one to… write down what my life is. So doing this? I'm not exactly thrilled._

_I guess I could start with today. Terry agreed to go to prom with me as he should, he's my boyfriend. Terry Holliway. My future last name. They're letting Lori Anne come too. She's bringing some friend of Terry's; I think Terry said his name was Bronk? Well anyways, this is going to be so much fun! My bestfriend and my boyfriend both get to go to prom with me._

_Lori Anne said I'm probably going to lose my virginity on prom night. Said that's where most girls do. I don't know about it though, I love Terry and all but going that far? I just don't know. That's a big thing I'll never get back…._

_Maybe I'll do these things like a story? Instead of me just bitching, I'll mix it up. 'Reenact' my day maybe?_

_Well I'll start with something that made me smile today that I never want to forget…_

_Terry and I held hands as we walked down by the creek at about noon, hand in hand. That alone always gives me butterflies._

_Terry looked over at me with his little smile, causing me to smile right back at him._

_"What're you up to, Mister?" he just laughed as he shook his head._

_"This just seems so perfect. I don't understand how something can be so perfect and have nothing go wrong. It's a little eerie." I felt my cheeks turning pink as his eyes studied my face as we stopped to face each other. The way the sunlight was coming through the trees dancing on his face was a beautiful sight._

_"Isn't too perfect a little bit of a stretch? I mean, you've got to remember why you brought me out here in the first place." I said as I raised an eyebrow, trying to suppress a smile._

_"Well you know what happened today wasn't intentional." He said smiling as he pulled me to him. I smiled right back._

_"But it still happened, Terry." His smile fell some as he looked into my eyes._

_"I love you, Reba." He said suddenly. I felt my jaw drop a little bit._

_"You love me?" he cracked a nervous smile._

_"Too soon?" I smiled._

_"I've waited to hear that for so long."_

_"Good, because I do love you." I stepped on my tiptoes to kiss him. "So…" he said as he looked at me. "How do you feel?" I just kind of looked at him for a minute, unsure of myself._

_"I don't know, Terry. I want to tell you I love you back, but I'm not positive how I feel. I don't want to lie to you or me for that matter." He smiled._

_"I can wait as long as you're honest with me sweetheart." He kissed my forehead reassuringly._

_"That means the world to me." I wrapped my arms around his torso and rested my head on his chest as his arms wrapped around me._

_After a few minutes I pulled back and grabbed his hand. I pulled him towards the river._

_"What're you doing you crazy redhead?" he asked mid laugh._

_"You'll see." I smiled slyly. As we stood by the water, I turned so he was standing beside the water as I threw my arms around his neck. He pulled me close as I pulled him into a kiss. His lips were so soft and comfortable against mine. As we stood there kissing, I felt his stubble rub against my chin and smiled. I loved that feeling._

_"I could just kiss you all day." Terry said as he pulled away slightly. I laughed._

_"Could you ever get mad at me?" I asked slyly._

_"I don't think I ever could babe." He said with a smile. Mine grew into a sinister one._

_"Keep that in mind."_

_"What?" he asked in a confused voice. Just then I turned him slightly and pushed him into the water laughing. His head popped up with a gasp as he swam for the shore. I stood laughing on the little ledge._

_"Payback's a bitch isn't it?" I asked sweetly. He came over by me cracked a smile._

_"The biggest." I leaned down and stole a kiss._

_"Are you ever going to compare me to Alice again? Point out what looks better on her than me?" I asked raising an eyebrow._

_"That's not what I was doing, Reba." He said defensively. I raised an eyebrow._

_"You said if I had boobs like Alice, was as tall as Alice, and as easy going as Alice I'd be the perfect girl." He just looked at me with a guilty expression._

_"Didn't sound as bad at the time."_

_"I thought so."I said poking his nose._

_"So are you done with revenge for the day?" he asked as he wiped his face. I smiled._

_"I guess so." His smile grew when I went to stand as he grabbed my arms and pulled me into the water despite my screaming._

_The water was so clear and cool as I went under. I opened my eyes and saw a fish looking directly at me. I came up with a big gasp, only to hear Terry laughing. I reached over and punched him as best I could in the water._

_"You're a jerk!" I said as I splashed him. He just laughed._

_"You know you love it." he said as he swam a little closer to me. He wrapped me in his arms as I put my arms around his neck laughing._

_"I guess I do." I leaned in and kissed him until we both went under. We came up laughing a minute later._

_"I can't keep us afloat when you kiss me like that babe." I laughed again._

_"Then maybe we shouldn't float." I said with a wink as I swam away from him. After a second I felt his arms lock around me. He turned me around before planting another kiss on my lips._

_"You're beautiful." He said as he pushed wet hair out of my face. I just looked in his eyes, sketching them into my memory._

_"I love you." I said suddenly, surprising even myself._

_"I thought you said you didn't want to say that." Suddenly it was a serious sentimental moment. I touched his face as I looked at him._

_"I didn't want to, but it felt right saying it." he cracked a small smile._

_"I love you."_

_"I love you, too." At that we kissed again._

_And that is how Terry and I exchanged our first 'I love you's' today. Seems cheesy reading it now, but it was one of the best moments of my life. I really do love him, I just never wanted to admit it. Things are going to be great from here on out. After high school, I'm going to marry that boy._

Cheyenne put the little notebook down with a million emotions running through her. A big smile spread across her face as she held the journal close to her chest. She had a piece of her mother that no one else even knew about. She still had a piece of her to hold onto.


	2. Chapter 2

Cheyenne walked into the living room, carrying the box of books she had found in her mother's closet. Kyra strode in from the kitchen, carrying boxes of her own.

"I finished packing up in there. Dishes are in the boxes marked 'Fragile.'" She held out the box she was carrying. "These are all the trinkets and stuff from the window. What's in yours?" Kyra sat her box down and nodded towards the one her sister was holding.

"Just some books," Cheyenne responded. She wasn't sure she wanted to share the journals with anyone just yet. She wanted it to be the last secret she kept with her mom. There had been many throughout the years and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to let go of that yet.

Kyra nodded. "She had plenty of them." She flopped down on the couch. "Given any thought as to what we're going to do with all this stuff?"

Cheyenne set the box of journals in the chair by the couch, sitting on the arm of it. "I was thinking maybe we could talk to Dad. See if he wanted to keep any of it. I know Mom had some keepsakes from their marriage."

Kyra nodded. "I don't want to sell any of it, though."

"We can't keep it. There's too much. I mean, there's nearly forty years worth of stuff in this house."

"I know, but I'm not ready to part with it yet."

Cheyenne shook her head with a small smile. "When did you become the sentimental one?"

"Since you started having grand-kids."

"You'll have some of your own someday."

Kyra shook her head. "Emma doesn't want kids."

"You didn't either," Cheyenne reminded her sister with a wink.

Throughout the years, Cheyenne had begun to understand why her mom loved her grand-kids so much. It was almost as great as having kids of your own. Only you could spoil grand-kids without all the guilt.

"Anyway," Kyra said with a sigh. "We don't have to keep everything, I just don't want to sell it."

"Then what do you suggest we do with it?"

"I think we should donate it. I wouldn't feel right profiting from Mom's life, you know?"

Cheyenne stood up, shaking her head. "You turn into Mom more and more every time we see each other."

* * *

"Wanna go see a movie tonight?"

Cheyenne looked up from one of the journals she was admiring as Van walked in their bedroom. She shoved the keepsake under her pillow and managed to shove the box under the bed with her foot, unseen from Van.

"How about I make dinner and we stay in instead?"

Van walked over to her. "That's no fun." He pretended to pout. "Did you guys get everything packed today?

"We got the kitchen done, the upstairs bathroom and Mom's room mostly done. We'll go back the day after tomorrow. Everybody's so busy to be able to get it done quickly. Jake wasn't even able to help today. It was just me, Kyra and the kids."

"I can help the day after tomorrow."

"Alright." She stood. "So what do you say about staying in? I don't feel like going out tonight. Too many emotions to sort through after today."

"Okay." He kissed her forehead. "We'll order in and rent a movie. That okay?"

She smiled. "That's perfect."

"I'll order the pizza, you pick a movie off Netflix." He walked out of the room and Cheyenne shut the door after him. It'd be a while until he was done making the order, as he had to have everything perfect. She figured she'd get a little light reading done while waiting for their dinner to arrive.

She sat back down on the bed and pulled the journal out from underneath her pillow, opening it to where she left off earlier that day.

_Mama would be proud that I'm sticking this out. Day two of writing in this thing and I'm starting to like it. It's kind of nice to be able to write your thoughts down. Who knows, I might get a kick out of reading this someday. Or maybe my future kids will. I don't know._

_Today was pretty good. I went prom dress shopping with Lori Anne and you can imagine how that went. _

_"Now what's wrong with this dress?" She asked after we had been in the little store downtown for over an hour. She was holding up a purple dress that was made pretty much out of tulle and nothing else._

_I looked up at her. "It's short, for one," I said. "Plus, it doesn't cover very much in the front." I craned my neck. "Or the back for that matter."_

_Lori Anne rolled her eyes. "Prom dresses are supposed to be fun, Miss Prude. They're supposed to be something you don't wear everyday."_

_"I don't want to look like a two dollar hooker, Lori Anne."_

_She sighed. "Don't you know what happens on prom night? Hmm?" She practically shoved the dress in my hands. "This is just less dress Terry has to rip off of you. Now get in the dressing room and try it on before somebody else comes along and gets one exactly like it. Nobody likes a copy cat."_

_My mouth hung open. "Lori Anne! I wouldn't do such a thing, especially on prom night. That's not what it's about!"_

_"Oh, really?" Lori Anne had her hand on her hip. "Then what is prom about? Hanging out with friends? Drinking cheap punch and eating store bought cupcakes?"_

_"Yes. As a matter of fact, it is." I hung the dress back on the rack. "I'm not going there to..." I lowered my voice. "...lose my virginity."_

_"That's where I lost mine. Junior prom."_

_"i'm aware of that. But I was raised different."_

_"Different don't mean wrong."_

_I rolled my eyes. "And even if I wanted to...do that, which I don't, I wouldn't do it in some cheap motel or in the back of Terry's pickup." I picked up a pretty green dress. It was long, flowing and just my style. Classy. "I want it to be sweet."_

_Lori Anne laughed. "Ha! That don't happen, honey. Your first time is anything but sweet."_

_"Yeah, you would know." I put the green dress back, searching through the racks some more._

_"Yeah, I would. And I'm just trying to prepare you, you know. I don't want it to happen and you freak out or anything."_

_I didn't respond for a moment. I just kept searching for a dress. _

_"Would you tell me if it did happen?" Lori Anne asked suddenly._

_I turned around to face her. "Of course I would. You told me."_

_She nodded. "You're more shy than I am, though."_

_I shrugged. "I'd tell you."_

_"It lasts about five minutes tops."_

_My eyes widened. "Lori Anne!"_

_"What? I didn't say anything like-"_

_I held up a hand. "I don't want details and I don't want to keep talking about this! Let's change the topic! I'll lose my virginity when I want to and not a moment sooner, okay?"_

_Lori Anne looked at me like I had two heads._

_"What?" I yelled._

_She pointed behind me and I turned to see two of the more popular girls in our class. They were rich and snooty, not my kind of people. They were snickering as they walked past us._

_"Little girl," One mumbled. "You'll never lose your virginity."_

_"She might," The other one said. "If she can find anybody who'll actually sleep with her."_

_They waltzed back towards the shoe department and Lori Ann looked at me._

_"Maybe you should work on your inside voice."_

_I shot her a death glare and sat down in one of the decorative chairs they had near the dressing rooms. I still had my eye on that green dress. Taking a deep breath, I looked up at my best friend._

_"Can I ask you a question?"_

_"Sure."_

_"When...if...my time comes, do you think there will be anyone around to share it with?"_

_Lori Anne knelt down in front of me. "Honey, that's something you need to keep with you for as long as you can. Don't just give it away. I shouldn't have said all those things earlier. I thought you were pretty secure in your relationship with Terry, that's why I said what I did. But I guess it's not as lovely as it's played out to be...?"_

_I shrugged. "I do love him and he loves me. He even told me he loves me. But I'm afraid he's going to be ready for the big step before I am. What if he decides he doesn't want to wait?"_

_"He's a good guy, Reba. If he truly loves you like he says he does, he'll wait. But don't do it unless you're a hundred percent sure. It's something you can't take back."_

_I nodded. "I know."_

_"Maybe you could talk to him about it?"_

_I laughed. "Ha. Yeah. I don't think so. It'd be too awkward."_

_"More awkward than him springing it on you and you not being ready?"_

_I laughed. "I don't know. I'll think about it."_

_She stood up and so did I. "You should do that," She told me. "Who knows. Terry might not be the one that gets your gift." She winked._

_"Yeah, right. I'm going to marry him, Lori Anne. You wait and see."_


	3. Chapter 3

"Cheyenne honey, wake up." Van said as he lightly shook his wife awake. She opened her eyes reluctantly to look at her smiling husband.

"What time is it?" she asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"8:30, didn't you say you wanted to be up before 9 to get ready?" she let out a heavy sigh as she nodded.

"I'm just so tired." Van let out a light laugh as he stood from the bed.

"That's what you get for staying up all night reading." her head shot up at his words, tucking the book deeper under her pillow.

"I thought you were asleep." he just gave her an odd look at her sudden outburst. "I mean, I don't like keeping you up all night like that."

"You didn't, I just woke up and saw you reading. I was too tired to say anything though, I just passed back out." Cheyenne smiled at her husband. She loved how even at his serious moments he could still be so corky.

"Well then good." she said as she also stood from the bed reluctantly. She slid into her robe, tying it swiftly. While Van had his back to her, she slipped the book in her robe, hiding it slyly.

"So what were you reading that was so good you couldn't put it down?" Cheyenne froze at her husband's question. How could she answer him without lying? She shoved the book deeper into her robe.

"Umm, just one of moms old books." she said shrugging.

"If it's that good can I read it? Your mom always read the best books." Cheyenne's eyes went wide as she just looked at Van. "Cheyenne?"

"It not a book you'd like." she said turning and walking into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her quickly. She let out a sigh as she leaned against the door. "These books are all mine." she whispered with a little smile. She flipped open a few pages to where she left off the night before as she sat on the floor.

The last few pages were all about getting ready for prom and all of the emotional things her mother went through in those days.

* * *

_So, last night was prom…_

_Things didn't go as I had planned in the least. I'm not sure I even want to write down how the night turned out. Would it be lying if I lied in my journal about last night? I mean, it's only for my eyes right? Well shoot, I'll probably remember if I lie… so no lie I guess._

_Lori Anne did my hair and make-up excitedly as I sat with my mind reeling._

_"Are you even listening to me?" Lori Anne said as she nudged me, annoyed._

_"What?" I said as I shook my head, trying to focus in on her words._

_"I asked if you were excited." She was frustrated as she glared at me with her hands on her hips. I shrugged, with a hint of a smile on my lips._

_"I am." She raised an eyebrow. "I swear I am!" I defended. She rolled her eyes._

_"You don't seem like it. What happened? Two days ago you were jumping around squealing you were so excited, what's with the sudden change?" I let out a sigh, I hadn't told her about what happened between me and Terry yet. I looked down at my hands and played with the hem of my shirt as I thought of a response. "You're hiding something from me." She said poking me hard in the shoulder so I'd look at her._

_"I'm not hiding anything, I just haven't had time to talk to you yet." I said shrugging a little to cover up my lie. She narrowed her eyes at me._

_"We have time; start talking." I let out a heavy sigh, realizing I had no choice but to tell my bestfriend._

_"Well, remember the other night I went over for my date with Terry?" she kept her steady glare on me, meaning yes. "Well, that night we were talking and… Yeah." I said shrugging. She raised an eyebrow at me._

_"That's not all of it, start talking."_

_Well here's the part where I switch from one story to another. I didn't write about this the other day because it wasn't something I wanted to write down, but now I have too to explain my current story._

_So here it is…_

_"You look beautiful." Terry said as he kissed my cheek before ushering me through the front door. I walked in and saw Terry's older brother Mike standing in the living room, playing with his record player._

_"Hi Mike." I said with a little wave. I kind of have a little crush on Mike, but I'd never go out with him. He's like 7 years older than me! But he has the prettiest deep brown eyes I've ever seen. It's like a melted chocolate bar. I could stare at him all day._

_"Hey Little Red." He said looking over at me with a little smile. I blushed at his nickname for me as Terry wrapped his arms around me._

_"Quit flirting with my girl Mike." Terry teased. Mike rolled his eyes as he focused his attention back on his record player._

_"You caught me Terry, better keep an eye on your girl or else I'll snatch her from you." He turned and winked at me, causing my cheeks to grow redder. He laughed as he shook his head, noticing my cheeks._

_"This one's all mine." Terry said as he kissed my neck from behind me. I could feel him smiling against my neck as he pulled me closer to him. He kept kissing my neck, making me smile as I moved my head to give him better access. I closed my eyes and forgot where we were._

_"Whoa now, you two can't just do that in the living room like that. I live here too." Mike said looking at us with an uncomfortable glare. I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment as I pulled away from Terry. "Go to your room Terry, come on." He shook his head and walked towards the front door._

_"I thought we decided to get this place so we could do stuff like this in the living room. You sound like dad." Terry said with a laugh. Mike picked up his keys and grabbed the door knob._

_"I don't do that in front of you; at least have the decency to do the same for me." He said in a more serious voice. "I'm only going to be gone for twenty minutes to get a part to fix my record player. Please don't be naked on my couch when I get back." He said giving Terry a playful glare before leaving. Terry laughed before turning his focus back to me._

_"I guess we have twenty minutes to do whatever we want on the couch." Terry said with a sly smile as he slid his arms around my waist, pulling my pelvis towards him. I smiled a little as I put my arms around his neck, a little too comfortable for my liking._

_"And what did you have in mind?" he laughed a little as he leaned down and started kissing my neck again, pressing our bodies a little closer together. I smiled as I let myself enjoy the feeling._

_"You." He kissed just below my ear. "You're what I have in mind." He whispered, sending a shiver down my spine. He pulled back enough to look at me. "I love you."_

_"I love you too." We both smiled a little before we brought our lips together. We wasted no time at all getting the kiss very involved. He stepped closer to me as he pressed his hand on my back, breaking any trace of space there was between us. As he stepped closer, I ran out of somewhere to step and felt myself being pressed against a wall. He broke our lips apart, wasting no time in going back to kiss my neck as his hands roamed. I felt my heart pounding uncontrollably as I tried to keep my breathing steady. This is the farthest Terry and I have gone like this._

_"Let's get out of here before Mike gets back." He said in a rush. I nodded, unable to form any words. I expected everything would end there, so I was quite surprised when Terry's hands found the back of my thighs and lifted me to rest between the wall and Terry's body. I let out a gasp as my feet left the ground. He laughed before carrying me down the hall._

_"I thought we were going dancing." I said in an uneven voice as I tried not to focus on the position we were in. He had my legs wrapped around his torso, with my lower region pressing against his, along with my chest and his._

_"We can later." He said pushing a door open with his foot. He didn't bother to reach for the light switch as he laid me on his bed, with him right on top of me. The only thing that lit the room was a little bit of moonlight coming through his window._

_My heart was pounding like crazy as he started kissing all down my neck and chest. I still had my legs wrapped around him and despite my better judgment; I didn't want to move them._

_I felt my breath hitch as one by one, my shirt was unbuttoned. It wasn't long before it hung open before Terry. He pulled back to look at me with a million different emotions._

_"What's wrong?" I asked feeling myself panic some. Was there something wrong with me? What did I do?_

_"Nothing, you're just perfect." I felt the corner of my mouth turn up before he brought his lips down onto mine._

_About ten minutes later, I was laying underneath Terry in only my bra and panties. Terry was only in his boxers. We were kissing and touching each other in ways we had never before. I had never been touched the way Terry was touching me. I loved it._

_"Hey Terry, you in here?" suddenly the light to Terry's room flicked on and a guy appeared in the doorway. I gasped as I grabbed the nearest thing, which was Terry's shirt, to cover myself. Terry jumped up in angry shock and slipped into his pants._

_"What the hell are you doing Brock?" he snapped as he stood in front of me. I curled up in a little ball under Terry's shirt, wishing I could just disappear. I felt so embarrassed._

_"I think the real question is; what are YOU doing?" Brock said in teasing matter. Terry scoffed, reaching for his shirt without looking. He pulled it off of me without realizing it, causing me to let out a little scream. Brock laughed at me._

_"Nice underwear." He teased._

_"Terry!" I yelled angrily as I hid under his blankets. I could hear Brock laughing as Terry yelled very angry things before the door slammed._

_"I'm sorry Reba." Terry said sitting on the bed beside me. I flung the blankets off my face, glaring at him angrily._

_"Get out of here!" I snapped. He looked startled._

_"What do you mean?" I pushed him away from me, holding tight to the blankets on top of me._

_"GET OUT!" I sat up and shoved him away from me so hard he fell off the bed._

_"Reba, calm down. This is my room honey." He said trying to calm me down. My cheeks were on fire as my temper hit the roof to cover up my extreme embarrassment. I just wanted to curl up and cry._

_"Just get out!" I screamed. He stood up slowly and walked towards the door. I closed my eyes as soon as he stood and didn't open them until I heard the door close._

_After a minute, I got up and put the rest of my clothing back on. I sat on the edge of Terry's bed thinking over what I almost just did. I was so ashamed of myself. What about waiting till marriage? I completely almost gave myself away without a single look back. I felt my eyes well up with tears before there was a soft nock on the door._

_"Reba, can I come in?" Terry said softly through the door. I let out a sigh as I closed my eyes, fighting away my tears._

_"Yeah." I said in a neutral voice. The door opened slowly before Terry stepped into the room. He came over and sat on the bed beside me._

_"You alright?" he said softly. I nodded._

_"I'm fine."_

_"I'm sorry that happened Reba, I really didn't know that of all things would happen today." I looked over at him._

_"Are you talking about him walking in on us, or us almost sleeping together?" I should've been angry with him, but I was only angry with myself._

_"I was talking about him. But what're you thinking about, both?" he asked with soft eyes. I let out a sigh._

_"Yes." I mumbled, embarrassed that I feel this way._

_"Too much too soon." He said looking down at his hands. I didn't say a word; I didn't know what I was supposed to say. "Reba, baby I didn't mean for things to happen the way they did." He said reaching over for my hand. "I love you. I don't want you to feel like anything we do is a mistake."_

_"How can I feel like it is or isn't when it happens like it did Terry?" I asked._

_"I don't know."_

_And because I was too scared to talk about it, that's where the conversation with Terry ended. Which is what led to the horrible conversation with Lori Anne which I don't even want to write down. So I'm going to skip it._

_So here it is, this is AFTER the encounter with Lori Anne. This is right before Terry and Brock come to pick us up._

_"Stop fidgeting." Lori Anne said as she nudged me._

_"Sorry." I said sitting back in my chair with a sigh._

_"Don't worry about it, I'll watch and make sure you two don't get carried away." She said trying to comfort me. I rolled my eyes._

_"You'll be with Brock; I really don't need him breaking up another 'encounter' thank you very much." She rolled her eyes. But before she could say anything, the doorbell rang._

_"I'll get it." Alice said as she walked into the living room. She opened the door excitedly and Terry and Brock walked in._

_"Wow, you look beautiful baby." Terry said walking over to me. He kissed my cheek as I blushed._

_"Thank you." he held both my hands and stepped backwards, getting the full view of me in my dress._

_"I love this dress; it looks so much like you. Like it was made for you." he said with a little smile. I felt a smile spread across my face as my confidence boosted._

_"You seriously like that booger green dress?" Lori Anne said with a disgusted look on her face. She hated that I chose the simple, boring green dress. She wanted me to get the little, little, very little purple dress._

_"It's not booger green Lori Anne, it's 'Forest Green'." I said annoyed. She rolled her eyes as Brock laughed._

_"Forest green, booger green, either way I love it." Terry said as he pulled me to him, stealing a kiss in the process._

_"Knock it off Terry, that's my little sister." Alice said nudging him. He laughed._

_"Yeah really, no one wants to see that." Lori Anne said with an edge. Both Brock and I caught onto her tone, but Terry was oblivious._

_"Alright, time for pictures." Alice said as she pulled us all together. Terry was on the far left with his arm around me, then Brock and Lori Anne beside us. We did a million pictures before we finally made it out the door._

_When we finally got into the little car, it ended up with me and Terry in the front seat, Brock and Lori Anne in the back. Terry reached over and grabbed my hand. I looked down at our hands and felt my stomach fill with butterflies._

_"I love you." he said looking over at me. "Tonight's our night." He said kissing the back of my hand. I gulped hard, trying to keep my composure._

_"Don't forget about me!" Lori Anne said as she leaned between our seats, breaking apart our hands. "I'm a big part of this night too. Bestfriend at prom, that's me." She said a little over the top as she threw an arm around my seat._

_"Uh, yeah. I guess so." Terry said a little confused. I covered my face with one hand at her craziness._

_"Am I missing something?" Brock asked in a know it all tone. He knew very well what was going on._

_"Nope, nothing at all." I said shooting a look into the backseat. He just laughed._

* * *

"Cheyenne!" At the sound of her name being yelled through the door she jumped, throwing the little journal into the air.

"Yes?" she replied, trying her best to sound normal.

"Are you done in there? Your dad's here, he's been waiting for ten minutes." Van said a little irritated. "Can I come in?"

"No." she said suddenly. "I'll be out in a second, just finishing up." She lied as she stood and started to get ready in a hurry. She heard her husband grunt through the door.

"So you mean you're going to take forever still." Cheyenne rolled her eyes at her husband.

"I'll be out in a minute Van!"

"Fine! But I have to pee, so please hurry?" Cheyenne let out a little laugh.

"Five minutes."

"I'm going to hold you too that dear."

"Looking forward to it sweetheart." She said sarcastically. As soon as Van was gone, she stood there looking at the little journal she threw across the floor longingly.

"No, I can't right now." She mumbled to herself, shaking her head slightly. "Save it for later." But even with her 'convincing' words, she couldn't wait to read how her mother's night at prom went.

Does this mean dad wasn't mom's first? Do I even really want to find out what happens? I mean, what if she gets gross? She thought as she stared at the journal. She shook her head.

"I'll deal with it later."


	4. Chapter 4

Cheyenne wandered down the stairs into the living room where she saw her dad and her two children sitting around the coffee table with Van telling some kind of story. They were all laughing and smiling and she couldn't help but be so thankful for the family around her. She learned the hard way that they could be taken from you without a moment's notice.

"What are you all talking about?" Cheyenne asked as she neared the group.

"Grandma," Matt said with a huge grin.

"Just tellin' old stories, Princess," Brock said, looking up at his daughter. "Haven't seen you in a while. I've missed you, hon." He tried to stand up, but Cheyenne stopped him and bent down to give him a hug instead.

"Don't get up, Dad." She gave him a kiss on the forehead. "How have you been? How's your knee?"

He rubbed his left knee which he had injured during a golf game with Van two weeks before.

"Only bothers me when it rains," He said.

"Good thing it's only rained once since, right?" She smiled and stood. "Who's hungry? I'm making chicken fried steak tonight. Dad, will you stay for dinner?"

"Oh, sure."

"I think that's what we all came over for anyway," Elizabeth said. "Jason is with the boys on that Cub Scout camping trip and I got lonely at home."

"Matt, is Lori out?" Cheyenne asked as she began walking towards the kitchen.

"As usual, it's Girls Night Out," He responded, leaning back in his chair. "She'll be back late, she said. Figured everybody would be over here anyway."

"Let me help you out in there," Brock said, standing up before Cheyenne could stop him.

"Dad, I've got it. Go sit back down." She tried to shoo him away, but he wouldn't have it.

"Let me help. They don't let me do much at home by myself anymore," He said, referring to his assisted living house he moved into last week.

"I know they don't, but you don't have to help. You can just sit in the kitchen and talk to me while I cook. That okay?"

He nodded and Cheyenne let him follow her. She noticed how the fire had left his eyes ever since her mom passed a month before. It had been so hard on everyone and her dad hadn't talked about it much, but everyone knew he had taken it the hardest. She wondered if she could get him to open up about her.

Once she got started on dinner and got him to talking about a few of his buddies back at his assisted living, she began discussing her mom's old house.

"We just about got everything moved out of Mom's house," She said, not making eye contact with her dad just yet.

"Oh, yeah?" She heard him say.

"Yeah. I think we're going to go back next week with Jake and box up some more stuff. There's just so much to pack up and not a whole lot of places to put it, but we'll manage."

"I'm sure you will."

She noticed how he kept his answers short, like he was hoping she'd change the subject, but she wasn't going to budge. She knew he was still broken up about losing her mom, but she also knew talking was a great way to get things off your chest to get you to feel better.

"You doin' okay?" She asked, glancing up at him seated upon a chair at the table. "About Mom."

"I'm okay." He nodded in affirmation. "To tell you the truth, I'm not so sure I believe it quite yet."

She sighed. "I know what you mean. Seems like yesterday we were all here for dinner and she was helping clear the dinner dishes and serve the dessert, kissing the kids goodbye. Telling me she'd see me tomorrow. And never being able to."

"It was hard."

"It was hard for me and Kyra and Jake," Cheyenne said, busying herself around the kitchen. "I can't even imagine how it was for you, Dad. You know, we haven't talked about this yet."

"There's a reason for that."

"If you don't want to talk about it, we don't have to. I just thought you might like to get it off your chest. Might make you feel better to talk about it."

He shrugged. "What's there to talk about? We lost her. She's gone, ain't comin' back."

Cheyenne had to fight back tears as her dad said those words. She tried not to let that sentence enter her mind, but every so often it would creep in there and she would have to struggle not to just sit down and sob. But she couldn't do that in front of her dad, so she had to hold it in.

"I know," She said instead. "Can I ask you one thing, though?"

"What?"

"You still loved her, didn't you?" She looked up at him this time, wanting to see his eyes when he answered.

Just as quick as she asked, he answered. A bit of that fire lighting up in his eye.

"Yes, I did. Never stopped."

* * *

"So, what were you and your dad talking about?" Van asked when him and Cheyenne were crawling into bed that night.

"Oh, just stuff. You know."

He nodded, pulling the covers up and turning the television on. "He seemed quiet during dinner."

Cheyenne climbed in beside him, making sure the journal was still tucked under the pillow for some late-night reading a bit later.

"We were talking about Mom."

"Oh." He turned the television down. "He okay?"

"I guess so. Still broken up about it. But we all are."

Van nodded a bit. "Think he'll heal eventually?"

Cheyenne shrugged. "I hope so, but you never know. He's gettin' old, Van. The older someone gets, the more bitter they become and the harder they get to please, harder they get to heal and get over things. I hope he can find some happiness in life again, but I honestly don't know."

Van sighed. "Ahhh. I know how he feels, though." He snuggled beneath the covers. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Cheyenne smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder, thinking about how she would ever live should she lose Van. She couldn't imagine losing him even for a second. Her dad must be going through something miserable.

After a few moments, she heard Van's snore and she knew she could read a bit more of the journal before bed. She carefully scooted away from him and pulled the journal out, turning to the page she left off at and began reading.

* * *

_Since I already wrote what happened before prom, I guess it'd be best to write about what happened at prom. And like I said, nothing went the way I had planned it..._

_"Have I told you that you look stunning?"_

_I shivered as Terry whispered those words in my ear. I looked at him and nodded.  
_

_"About fifty times, yes."_

_He chuckled. "Well, it's true."_

_We were standing off to the side, just watching everyone else dance. I was having a nice time watching my friends goof off and laughing at Lori Anne talk about how the punch was spiked with vodka. I was pretty sure she was the one who did it, anyway. _

_"Do you want to dance?"_

_I shook my head, resting my hands on Terry's. He was behind me with his arms around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder. _

_"Aw, come on."_

_I shook my head again. "I don't dance. You know that." I tilted my head to look at him. "Go dance with yourself."_

_"That's no fun when you have a pretty girl to do it with." He wiggled his eyebrows. "If you know what I mean."_

_"I don't know if I want to know what you mean." I faced forward again, spying Lori Anne dancing with Brock and a few of my other friends dancing with their dates. Teachers were milling about, making sure everybody was on their best behavior. Typical school dance._

_"Sure you do." He nuzzled my neck. "We could try again, you know."_

_"Try what?"_

_"What was interrupted the other night."_

_"I don't think so."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Because we're at prom and while we're here we're going to do prom related things, alright?"_

_He let his grip on me loosen and I felt him pull his arms away from me. "Like stand over by the wall and not do anything?"_

_"Sure." I turned around to face him. "Besides that, where would we go?"_

_"We could ditch this place and go to a motel."_

_"Oh, that's real classy, Terry. No way." I turned back around and leaned up against the wall with my arms folded. _

_"You wanted to the other night."_

_"But I don't want to right now. I'm not in the mood. And I really don't like you pressuring me."_

_"I'm not pressuring you. I asked a simple question."_

_"And when you didn't get the answer you wanted, you cried like a little girl."_

_"I don't get why you're being so immature right now."_

_I looked over at him and shook my head, brushing past him._

_"Reba, where are you going?"_

_I turned around. "Don't follow me, got it?" Then I walked away, pushing open the gym doors and running outside. _

_He could make me so mad sometimes. I had gone a bit too far with him the other night and wondered that maybe Brock walking in on us was God's way of telling me so. I decided to wait it out and see. It really got on my nerves that Terry couldn't see that. _

_Sitting down on the curb outside of the school, I put my chin in my hands. I knew Lori Anne would yell at me because my dress got dirty, but that was the last thing on my mind at the moment. I sat out there thinking about college and what would happen to Terry when I went and if we would stay together and everything else a high school senior worries about. _

_My thoughts were interrupted, however, when the doors to the school opened. I was directly in front of the doors so I could see who came in and who came out, but it was so dark that I didn't know if they saw me. I wasn't illuminated by the streetlight near the school's flag. I squinted, trying to make out who it was. If it was Terry, I wouldn't be a happy camper. Whoever it was was lighting up a cigarette. I knew Terry didn't smoke, so I let out a sigh of relief._

_"Smoking's bad for you, you know," I called out to the stranger._

_They looked up and started heading my way. As they got closer, I realized it was Brock. I hadn't spoken to him since he walked in on me and Terry. Blushing a bit, I looked up at him._

_"Well, lookie who it is," He said, taking a drag. "Lovebird Number One. Do you know that Lovebird Number Two is looking for you?"_

_I hit him in the knee. "Shut up. That's none of your business."_

_He sat down on the curb next to me. _

_"If you're going to sit there, could you put that out?"_

_He flicked his cigarette away. "That better?"_

_"Yes, thank you." I sighed. "You know, I never got an apology from you."_

_"An apology? What did I do to you?"_

_"You know."_

_He was silent for a moment before saying, "Ohhhh. That." He shrugged. "I apologized to Terry."_

_"I'm not Terry."_

_"Okay. I'm sorry for walking in on you having sex." He stood up. _

_"That's not what we were doing."_

_"Oh, it wasn't?"_

_"Well, it was, but we didn't get to. Thanks to you."_

_"Isn't that why you're out here?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Terry told me he asked you to get out of here and you got all defensive and called him a little girl. Make up your mind."_

_"This is none of your business, thank you very much."_

_"You brought it up! Jesus. Now I know what Terry's always complaining about."_

_"Excuse me?" I stood up as well. _

_"You heard me." He started walking backwards. "I came out here to make sure you were okay. I know how Terry can be sometimes, but man. I get how he feels now. Can't help someone who doesn't want help."_

_"I don't need any kind of help. You keep butting into my relationship."_

_He shrugged and started walking away._

_"And you can tell Terry I don't need a ride home anymore. Tell Lori Anne to come out here."_

_"Tell her yourself."_

_He disappeared inside the school and I sat back down on the curb, even more angry than when I got out here._

_xXx_

_And that's how prom went. Nothing as lovely as I had hoped it would be. It ended with me and Terry fighting and actually breaking up. I haven't talked to him since last night. And I don't really care, either._

* * *

Cheyenne closed the journal with a smile. She never knew her mother went through the same silly things she went through in high school in such great detail. It was comforting to know. She let herself drift off to sleep with dreams of happier times, the journal tucked away under her pillow until the next day.


	5. Chapter 5

Cheyenne sat in her mother's kitchen the next day, drinking coffee and staring at the chair that her mother should be occupying. She missed their morning coffee talks so much. She had gotten use to them in her daily routine over the last thirty some years.

She blinked back a few tears as she thought of her father's words from the night before.

"You're really not coming back are you? You're really gone." She whispered quietly.

"Well, one of the best parts of her is still kicking." Cheyenne looked up to see her father standing in the doorway.

"What're you doing here dad?" she said standing to help her father. He didn't make any move to enter the open door.

"I heard you were spending more time over here than you should be. Came to check on you." he said looking past her into the house. She knew she was only a small part of the reason he was really here.

"Well come sit down then." she said holding onto his arm, guiding him into the room. He pulled his arm away angrily.

"I may be old but I can still walk Cheyenne." She rolled her eyes at her father's stubbornness. Eventually they made it to the kitchen table where Cheyenne brought him a cup of coffee.

"You're so much like your mother." He said watching his daughter move around the kitchen, so much like Reba use too.

"How so?" she asked looking at him from the corner of her eye as she made a new pot of coffee.

"The littlest things. She comes back in flashes when I watch you. Hell, when I watch any of you kids. Even Elizabeth takes after her." A small sad smile played on his lips.

"I never knew that." Cheyenne said quietly from the coffee pot.

"She'll never truly be gone. She still lives through all of you." he said not moving his eyes from his blank stare.

"Doesn't make this any easier." Cheyenne said, not meeting her father's eyes as she spoke.

"It's not supposed to be easy Cheyenne; this is meant to sting like hell." He said bitterly. She looked over at her father in surprise. There was nothing in his eyes but hurt and anger. "She was never meant to go first. I was always ready to go first; this wasn't how it was supposed to happen."

"Dad, we still need you to get through this. I didn't want either of you to go but as we both know damn well, mom's gone." Brock flinched at her words slightly. "Mom's the first to go, don't make us lose you too." She said almost in tears. She couldn't bear to lose her father, especially right after losing her mother.

"How am I supposed to get by knowing what I know Cheyenne?" Brock asked as tears filled his eyes. "The woman I've loved all my life is gone. The love of my life died not knowing how much I loved her. She died alone because I was a fool. Tell me how I'm supposed to handle all that guilt Cheyenne, just tell me." He yelled angrily. Cheyenne couldn't hold her tears in any longer at her father's outburst.

"I can't."

"You're damn right you can't." he said as he set his coffee cup down a little harder than necessary.

There was very little conversation after that. An hour or so later they both ended up in the living room to get more comfortable.

Brock laid down on the couch to try and lower his blood pressure, only to fall asleep shortly after. Cheyenne sat in the chair in front of the divider, thinking about everything her father said in the kitchen. She watched her father's slow relaxed breathing as thoughts of everything she knew about her father flooded her mind.

He loved her mother, she remembered seeing it. The look in his eyes when he would look at her mother when she was only a child never left her. There was so much love and affection for her mother in them. How he ever let her go, Cheyenne would never understand.

When Brock did turn away from Reba, Cheyenne remembered how hard her mother tried to pull him back to her. He refused her as he turned away, never glancing back at the destruction he left in his path. Cheyenne felt so much hatred and resentment for him for doing that to her mother for so long. It never completely went away.

Then after Barbra Jean came into the picture, she remembered how hard he tried to make her into Reba. He never wanted her step mother; he was only looking for everything he had left behind.

Cheyenne remembered how when her mother closed the door between her and her father, it never faltered. She was very set in her ways about her decision, even though everyone could see how much she still loved him. She wouldn't change her mind.

After Barbra Jean divorced her father, her parents became very close again. There wasn't a relationship, just a very deep and honest friendship. Cheyenne always admired her parents for holding a relationship like that. She never understood why they never got back together, they were perfect together.

Cheyenne scrunched her eyebrows as she thought hard about why her parents went the rest of their lives without each other. She could never live with herself if she lost Van, and she'd do anything in her power to get him back if she got that chance.

But now her mother was gone and her father had to live with his choices.

She looked over and saw the corner of her mother's journal poking out of her purse. She stood up and walked across the room to retrieve it. She needed something to pull her mind from these thoughts.

_It's been three days since the disaster I call prom. I heard from Terry for the first time since the blow up… it was… interesting you could say?_

_"What're you doing way up here all alone?" Brock asked as he sat beside me. I was by my little pond where Terry and I said our first 'I love you's'. I shrugged._

_"I could ask you the same." He laughed a little._

_"I asked you first." He elbowed me. I tried to hide my smile as I elbowed him back._

_"Where else would I be?" I asked flatly as I glared at him. He just smiled at me._

_"I don't know, maybe with Lori Anne or Terry." I narrowed my eyes at the mention of Terry. He flinched back a little bit as I turned my gaze back to the water without a word. "Still haven't talked to him yet?"_

_"Not going too."_

_"And why not?"_

_"No reason too."_

_"That's not a real reason Reba." He said frustrated. I looked back at him._

_"Why does it matter to you?" I nearly snapped._

_"Just because."_

_"That's not a real reason Brock." I mocked. He rolled his eyes. Things got quiet there for a long while. I didn't mind sitting in the quiet with him. It was peaceful._

_"You deserve to be happy." He said suddenly._

_"What?" when I looked over at him his eyes were fixed out on the water._

_"That's my reason, you deserve to be happy."_

_"Who says I'm not?" he moved his eyes to mine and I felt goose bumps cover me. His crystal blue eyes sent a shiver down my spine with just one look._

_"I do."_

_"And how would you know that?" a small smile played on his lips._

_"You're not a very hard person to read there red." I rolled my eyes._

_"Terry would disagree with you on that one."_

_"Terry's not the smartest person you'll ever come across." I cracked a smile at that._

_"What makes you say that?" I asked, sneaking a peak at him._

_"Well for starters, he let you go." My smile completely fell._

_"Don't go there Brock." I said feeling my anger flare as I looked away. I didn't want to be sweet talked by Brock, he was quickly becoming a close friend and I didn't want to lose that._

_"Don't go where? The truth?" I let out a frustrated grunt and stood up, walking towards the path._

_"Reba, don't storm off like that. I was just saying." I rolled my eyes as I continued to retreat._

_"I'll do whatever I damn well please Brock." I said over my shoulder._

_"I don't doubt that, but hear me out." He said as he grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. He took both my shoulders in his hands and looked me straight in the face, making my stomach do a flip._

_"I'm listening." I said through my teeth._

_"Terry was an idiot. You are a very beautiful girl who any guy would be lucky to have. Terry is the biggest fool for letting you go over something like this, he should value your purity, not try and take it from you. You deserve love and respect. Anything less just isn't good enough for you." he said sternly. I could see the angry honesty in his eyes. I blinked back tears as I gulped hard, trying not to cry._

_"You're just saying that."_

_"If I was saying it just for the hell of it, I wouldn't have said it at all." He said as he softly squeezed my arms._

_"Why do you care so much?" I asked half hoping he had reason to say those things. I don't know why though, I've never thought anything of him before, so why now? He let out a sigh after a long moment of just looking at me._

_"Because you deserve to hear it." he said with a defeated look on his face._

_"That's not the real reason. Why did you say those things?" I nearly demanded. He let out a sigh._

_"Because I really-"_

_"Reba!" I looked over and saw Terry running towards us. My stomach dropped at the sight of him. Brock automatically let go of me and stepped back._

_"Hey Terry." Brock said not meeting my gaze._

_"I need to talk to you." Terry said ignoring Brock and coming up to me._

_"Who says I wanna bother listening?" I snapped._

_"Look, I thought you'd fall apart and be all heartbroken after we broke up but you're not." He said a little out of breath as he grabbed onto my shoulders, much like Brock had done just moments before. "I haven't known what to do with myself since then, I need you Reba." I was taken aback by his words. Part of me wanted nothing more than to hear those words, but now that I have, they make me want to throw up._

_"Get your hands off me." I barked as I flung my arms, trying to shake his hands off. "I don't want to hear any of that crap Terry. You only wanted sex from me, nothing more." He tightened his grip slightly, not willing to let go of my arms._

_"Give me another chance Reba, please." He pleaded. I opened my mouth to reply, but Brock beat me to it._

_"Leave her alone Terry, she said get your hands off her now." He said shoving Terry away from me. He let go and got in Brock's face._

_"Who the hell do you think you are? Mind your own business Brock." He said pushing Brock back. I knew right then and there that this was going to be bad._

_"Just keep your hands off her." Brock said angrily. He didn't make a move towards Terry in any way, he just stood his ground. Terry shoved him again._

_"Come on Brock, make me." He shoved him yet again._

_"Terry stop it." I yelled, trying to step between them. Brock pulled me by my elbow out of the way, well aware that Terry had no intention of stopping._

_"Think you're so much better than me Brock? Think you can step in and take my place?" he poked him hard in the chest. "You're sadly mistaken if so." Brock shoved him back._

_"I know I'm better than you Terry, I wouldn't pressure a girl into my bed like you." Terry got a wild look on his face as he took a swing at Brock._

_"Stop it!" he hit Brock hard in the jaw before Brock took a swing back. I stepped between them and shoved Terry away from Brock angrily. Brock tried to pull me away once again but wasn't quick enough. Suddenly I was on the ground with my hand pressed to my throbbing eye._

_"You son of a bitch." Brock yelled as he bent down by my side and picked me up._

_"Reba, I'm so sorry." Terry said trying to touch me._

_"Get away from her!" Brock snapped as he stood and punched Terry directly in the face more than once, causing an automatic nose bleed and some serious marks. Terry hit the ground hard._

_"You just hit me." I said in shock._

_"It won't ever happen again." Brock said firmly as he bent down and put his arm around me, furiously glaring at Terry._

_"You didn't hit me, you PUNCHED me." I said a little louder as I slipped out of my shock and fell into my anger._

_"It was an accident." Terry said as he held his sleeve to his nose._

_"It doesn't matter, you hit me Terry!" I shouted. My eye throbbed. I flinched a little at the pain my outburst caused._

_"You have one minute to get out of my sight before I kill you." Brock said through his teeth. I could feel him shaking with rage as he spoke._

_"I'm not going any-"_

_"Time's ticking." Brock said sternly. The tone and hardness in Brock's voice was enough to scare even me. Slowly Terry stood up and started to walk away. After Terry was out of sight, Brock sat on the ground better and pulled me to his chest, wrapping his arms around me protectively._

_"I'm so sorry Reba." He softly said into my hair._

_"It's not your fault." I said just as soft. He pulled back to look at me._

_"Are you alright?" his thumb softly brushed under my swelling eye, causing me to flinch._

_"It hurts." His eyes were studying me so seriously. His face was so close to mine, it made my heart pound faster._

_"It's going to be a black eye. He hit you pretty hard." I let out a heavy sigh._

_"Just my luck, two weeks before graduation." he cracked a smile._

_"Cracking jokes already? Wow, you do bounce back fast." I could feel his breath on my face as he laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood. I felt myself smile a touch._

_"So how can I ever thank you? For everything." His smile fell a little as he looked at me with his soft eyes._

_"You don't have to do anything."_

_"But I want to." I said barely above a whisper. He smiled just a little bit._

_"You're perfectly fine Reba." Said as he stood up. He helped me to stand too but I got very light headed and almost fell back down._

_"I'm fine."_

_"No you're not." He said as he picked me up. I let out a little gasp as he carried me away from the pond to his truck._

_So that's how my day went. Pretty amazing isn't it? My prince turned out to be a slimy toad, and the guy I thought was a toad turned out to be… a very trusted friend._

"What the hell is that?" Brock angrily asked, causing Cheyenne to jump in the air. She automatically hid the book behind her back.

"What're you talking about?" she tried to play it off like it was nothing at all. Brock slowly made it to a sitting position.

"You were just reading, what was it?" Cheyenne panicky looked around and spotted Pride And Prejudice on the table in front of her.

"I was reading that." She said pointing.

"I didn't see you set it on the table." He accused, getting very angry.

"I set it down when you were sitting up."

"I'm old, not stupid Cheyenne." He barked. Cheyenne gulped hard as she looked at her father, without the faintest idea on how to get herself out of this one.


End file.
